Ameranouche

Our little trio is leaving the farm this Friday, heading out to New York City to cook up a gypsy jazz concert at Drom - NYC World Music Venue... Even if your not in New York City, if you have any NYC friends please encourage them to attend the show.

Friday, February 19th

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Venue: Drom (located in the East Village)

85 Avenue A (between 5th and 6th) New York, NY 10009

Tickects are $10

www.dromnyc.com

And we are playing in Providence, RI the next night at the Everyman Bistro on 311 Iron Horse Way.

Nouche blog

Good wintry greetings to you, friends. Ameranouche may appear to be in its proverbial jammies for a period of hibernation, but we are all quietly hard at work here in the land of lovely snow. Key word: Lovely.

There's some songwriting...some sweet booking (did someone say Boston? did someone say NYC?) thanks to our new friends at the Charisma Artist Agency...some playing and practicing and studying and experimenting...and listening... (did someone say Fishtank Ensemble? have you checked out Tony Rice? have you listened to enough Ritary this week?)... And the listening might be the best part. How can anything compare to sitting back, closing your eyes, and being completely overtaken by sonic bliss?

Gypsy music is traditionally shared by families and friends. Our Chicago based friend, Chris Darby (of the indie rock band Them Damn Kids) recently said in an interview, “I want it to sound like I’m sitting in the bedroom next to you as I sing." Ameranouche parallels this thought with hopes of sounding instantly familiar. Maybe as if we are all together around a campfire and there is dancing, conversation, and merriment. Welcome to our humble caravan! Or Minivan. Whatever. The spirit is strong!

Before signing off, we do have a bit of good news to share. Ameranouche, meaning Shepp, Ryan, and Xar, have now officially been together for THREE years! Now we can say we are sort of like Nirvana.

Looking forward to Nouching you all soon! Let us know in the comments what great concerts you've seen or what albums you've checked out lately.

Peace,

Xar, Ryan, Shepp

5 course dinner, wine and Gypsy Jazz! Read below for more details.

PRINT THIS EVENT PAGE OUT AND BRING IT TO THE SHOW as a coupon to buy one of

our CD's at half price! $5!!! Just show us the coupon at the end of the show and get your $5

CD!

AMERANOUCHE & CELLARDOOR WINERY

Join us for a terrific event: We will be offering a 5 course menu with wine paring for each course. 

We will be featuring produce from our CSA's menu. Supper is 5-7 pm, one seating, and then join 

us for a live performance with the elegant sounds of acoustic trio, AMERANOUCHE!

$65 for DINNER, WINES and SHOW.

More info: www.lilbistromaine.com

Listen to some tunes at www.ameranouche.com 

What's the 'Nouche been up to? I can't believe I haven't blogged at you since the Adirondack adventure. Let's see... some highlights since then include:

- Several beautiful outdoors events: A dreamy summer afternoon at Gorham Music Fest in Maine. A show on the huge green in front of Everyman Bistro in Providence -- funds were raised for a group that connects people with disabilities and the arts. The Big E Expo and the Lowell Arts Fest, both in Mass, were also great times.

- We played outdoors in North Carolina at a series called The Rooster's Wife. We all enjoyed splendid hospitality as well as the sweet sounds of opener Bruce Piephoff's group. We even got to sneak in a quick visit with our friends in VA, the Gypsy Roots, on the way down.

- We stopped on the way to play at the tiny Charlesworth Hotel in the heart of South Jersey. There is a tune on our first album that honors the lighthouse here on the Delaware Bay. We were here in August this year, with lots of friends, lots of family, and huge windows that presented us with the sun setting over the Bay all evening long.

- We'd barely unpacked from one journey when suddenly it was September and we were back in NYC! The Gypsy Tabor Festival included a staged shaped like a caravan wagon. Within a few weeks, we were in NYC once again for the Brooklyn Djangology Fest. This was our second year and the vibe was strong.

- Last weekend we had a nice night in Freeport, Maine, at The Venue. There was dancing, there were smiles...nice stage, nice people.

- The following night was probably one of our best shows of the year. We followed moose tracks up to East Sangerville, Maine. The whole room was full of enthusiasm, energy, and don't forget the fancy homemade desserts. I can picture the moose gathering outside and dancing some moosedances... Maybe not, but it was a really special night -- once again we were blessed to have some family and long-time friends in the audience. The double-encore was a nice touch, too. We all left feeling quite rejuvenated, and with people pressing packages full of leftover pie into our sleepy hands.

- What a year it has been, so far....! And now that we're involved with Charisma Artist Agency, it's like....has this all just been a warm up?!

We are so stoked for the future and so thankful for the past. New tour dates will pour in shortly. Will we see you soon? We hope so.

Want to book us?  http://www.charismaartist.com/ is now the way to go

Well, we are crazy excited (and focused) about working with the Charisma Artist Agency. We have been working and waiting a long time for this day... and a new chapter is about to begin for Ameranouche... right now we are all feeling rather anxious to get to work with our new freinds at Charisma.  Very cool! We are going to be changing our guitar strings a lot more and we are going to use a lot more deoderant then before because we are going to be sharing our music with a lot more people now. Geez,  my jokes just don't translate well via blog... Anyway, here's more info on Charisma:

The Charisma Artist Agency represents some of the finest artists specializing in a broad array of Americana, World, Roots, Bluegrass, Indie, Rockabilly, Swing, Avant Garde and Jazz genres; offering a roster of renowned regional, national and internationally touring acts and providing our client venues with a highly-experienced and skilled staff of agents and a top-notch administrative support team. We look forward to working with you.

More at www.charismaartist.com

Charisma Artist Roster:

Ameranouche

3 Leg Torso

Fishtank Ensemble
Holy Ghost Tent Revival

The Hot Seats

The Hunger Mountain Boys

Kailin Young Peace Project

Luminescent Orchestrii

The Mad Tea Party

Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade

Stephanies ID

Two Man Gentleman Band

The Wiyos

I have so many new video's of Ameranouche... but they take so long to upload... yikes... but I will be uploading them once a day on Youtube... They will also be on our video's page on ameranouche.com... but to leave a comment you will have to watch them on Youtube... so check out the first one I just uploaded today - Ameranouche playing Swing 48 at WMPG Studio's in Portland, ME and please leave a comment!

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU0df_JsK18

Ameranouche has 5 really cool gigs coming up this month in New Hampshire and Connecticut 

Harlow's Pub on Saturday, June 20th. Show will start around 7 p.m. Harlow's is located at 3 School Street, Peterborough, NH.

Verizon Wireless Arena on Thursday, June 25th. Performing for the NH Best Celebration 2009! VWA is located in downtown Manchester, NH.

Piccola Lounge on Thursday night, June 25th. The "After Party" for NH Best Celebration. This is going to be a good time. Show starts at 9 p.m. and goes to Midnight. $2.50 drafts will be served all night. So even if you didn't go to NH Best, you can still come hear us play at the Piccola, located at 827 Elm Street, Manchester, NH... just minutes walk from Verizon Wireless Arena. The lounge is very cool, relaxed and right upstairs from the Piccola Italia Ristorante.

Ricks Pond View on Saturday, June 27th. Show starts 7:00 p.m. and goes to 10 p.m. Rick's is located at 92, Route 25, Kingston, NH.

Also playing 3 Radio shows this month. You can listen to the live broadcasts online!

WUNH RADIO: Monday, June 22nd 6pm eastern www.wunh.org

WICN RADIO: Wednesday, June 24th 1pm eastern www.wicn.org

WMPG RADIO: Friday, June 26th 7pm eastern www.wmpg.org

We are also playing the IDEAT MUSIC Festival in New Haven, CT on Thursday, June 18th!  And a workshop the next day at Acoustic Music in Guilford, CT!

Lots to see... hope you can make it out to one of the shows or atleast check us out on the radio!

Hey Cats,

Our new Album is now available for download at the following retailers:

iTunes

Rhapsody.com

Napster.com

Amazon MP3 Store

CDBaby www.cdaby.com/cd/ameranouche2

And, we have yet our second review on the CD from the "Wire Magazine"

Read it here.

One more note, we have a big nice concert coming up at Studio 99 in Nashua, NH on May 23rd. This place is very cool. Come see the show already!

Check out the details for the Studio 99 concert here!

Peace and Nouche

First review of Ameranouche's new CD "Awake" from Blogcritics.org. Read the review below or visit http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-ameranouche-trio-awake/

(don't forget to pickup our new CD by clicking the "Buy CD" button above)

Music Review - Ameranouche Trio - Awake

One of the most amazing things about the guitar is the diversity of sounds and music that it can create. As a generation raised on electric and pop music we've been woefully underexposed to just what this instrument is capable of. Even the most causal listen to those performing in the classical or jazz genres would be enough to open one's eyes to its potential. Anyone looking for an approachable, yet interesting and exciting, introduction to one of the guitar's other worlds, should pick up the latest release by the New England based trio Ameranouche, and experience what they have to offer.

Awake is their second CD and it's a sterling example of how a guitar can be exciting without the use of an effects box or feedback. For eleven tracks Richard Sheppard on lead guitar, **** ******** on rhythm guitar, and Xar Adelberg on stand up bass, pluck, strum, and pick out a mixture of swing, flamenco, and jazz influenced guitar that picks you up right from the first note and doesn't stop moving until the last. Even better is the fact it's obvious they're having fun with what they're doing making it impossible as a listener not to get caught up in their pleasure and excitement.

I have to admit to a rather limited exposure to what's known as Gypsy Jazz, so I'm not in a position to compare Ameranouche's capability of performing that genre with other artists working in a similar vein, or to comment on it within that context. However that doesn't prevent me from being able to appreciate the talent level on display and the fact that they are obviously highly proficient at what they are doing. What I heard when listening to Awake was something that sounded like it had a foot in both the Old and New worlds. The sharp staccato syllables of a flamenco beat blended with the melodic trills of jazz guitar and a grounding bass line are examples of how they draw upon the old to inspire the new in order to create something that sounds familiar, but which still catches you by surprise.

It's very rare to find a trio in popular music that doesn't have one person as its central focus with the other two musicians serving as support. Heck, that's the case with most bands these days no matter how many members; there's a couple of leads and than the rest of them. That's definitely not the case with the Ameranouche Trio. For although Sheppard plays the leads on each song, there is never the impression that he is the lead. In part this could be due to the fact that they have recorded both guitars at the same volume ensuring the listener can always hear both Flaherty and Sheppard, but I think there's something more involved. For it's not just the guitars you can hear clearly at all times, but you're also aware of the job Adelberg is doing with her bass to tie her two flamboyant band mates together.

Listeners, like me, who aren't used to hearing three distinct parts being played at once might find the music on Awake a little disconcerting at first. A normal tendency is to want to latch on to the most prominent sound we hear and follow it while letting everything else fade into the background. Normally that sort of thing is engineered in the studio by the producer, so the "lead" receives most of a listener's attention. In this case though you have two, if not three, different sounds, of which none are dominate, so you can't just follow one of them. However, once you recover from this initial state of confusion, you'll discover something really astounding - you are listening to all three at once as a single entity; a piece of music instead of a collection of solos.

The opening track of the disc, "Ameranouche Swing" is a great example of this for right from the start you are aware of all three musicians. Sheppard is picking out a complex and fiery series of notes that twist and twirl around the steady chop laid down by Flaherety, while Adelberg's bass isn't so much heard as felt running, pulse like, underneath. What I found most refreshing about the band was their ability to change moods from cut to cut without it effecting their intensity. So even though on the third track, "Awake", Sheppard's playing hasn't lost anything in the way of speed or flair, there's something about what Adelberg and Flaherety are doing with the rhythm that give the song a more relaxed, mellow feel. It's a fine example of how well they each complement the others in creating something greater than what each individual is playing.

I was taken aback the first time I heard the fourth track, "Into The Free", because the last thing I was expecting on this type of recording was vocals. It's not the only track on the disc with vocals as "Secret Promises", the ninth track, also has singing on it, but as it was the first, it remains the one that sticks out in my mind. As with everything else about this disc their vocal harmonies are spot on. Each of them have voices, that if not the strongest in the world, are suitably melodic for what they are doing. For while they are singing words, it's the additional layers of sound that they create with their voices that really add to the music. Like adding stucco to paint gives a wall additional texture that makes it more interesting to look at and touch, their vocals give their sound extra depth and additional spice that makes it all the more captivating.

Ameranouche Trio is invigorating and exciting music that is a timely reminder of not only how versatile the guitar is but that jazz music can be a lot of fun. There is a joie de vivre about all the music on this CD that makes it almost impossible to listen to without smiling. Brilliantly and lovingly played music is hard to come by these days no matter what the genre which makes this release all the more special. If you've not heard this trio before you're in for a real treat, and if you have you don't need me to tell you how good they are.

Article Author - Richard Marcus

Blog Critics

Yes, it's here!

The new Ameranouche CD "Awake" is now available on CD Baby http://cdbaby.com/cd/ameranouche2 .

MP3's are available there as well.

MP3's are also available on the AMAZON MP3 STORE - just go to their site and search Ameranouche!

the exclamation mark goes here: where to get your NEW Ameranouche CD: AWAKE!

the moment we all have been waiting for, for well over a YEAR, has arrived.

it is with great joy that we announce....drumroll....we now have a CD full of new, almost all original, Ameranouche goodness to offer to you.

www.ameranouche.com and http://cdbaby.com/cd/..ameranouche2 have the goods. ......although...NEWS FLASH.... i just got word that our CDBaby inventory sold out within less than a day.... no worries, you can still order your CD there or download the mp3 version from there. cheaper and instantly ready for playing on your favorite little gadget. =]

the official CD release date is May 1, but it arrived a little early and it does a lot more good out in the world than sitting a box. we sincerely hope that this music brings to you what it does to us: a little spark to your day, an extra pinch of joy to your gait, the urge to go wink at someone you love.... you're the reason we made it, after all.

*wink!*